Ghaziabad: Three persons were arrested for allegedly killing their friend for Rs 5 lakh ransom and hiding his body in the bushes near Ganga canal here, police said Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, the accused were nabbed near the railway station on Sunday. The victim Abid's skeleton was recovered from the bushes and sent for DNA test, the Masuri police said.

The accused were identified as Shahat, Nadeem and Shoib, all residents of Masuri town in the district and have been sent to jail.

They have confessed to their crime and admitted that they did it for the ransom, Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said.

The family members of the deceased had lodged a missing complaint.

On August 8, the accused called Abid from his house on the pretext of drinking and kidnapped him and strangulated him to death the other day.They had hidden his body behind the bushes on the banks of Ganga canal near Naahal village in the district, the SSP said.

After killing Abid, they made a call to his brother Ismail and demanded Rs 5 lakh telling that his brother was in their captivity, the SP said.

On the basis of the information provided by the accused, police have recovered Abid's body, his clothes and mobile phone. The body has been sent for DNA test, the SSP added.